Seán FitzPatrick trial put back to October

The trial of former Anglo Irish Bank chairman Seán FitzPatrick on charges of misleading the bank's auditors has been put back to October 4th.

Mr FitzPatrick (66) of Whitshed Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to 27 offences under the 1990 Companies Act. These include 21 charges of making a misleading, false or deceptive statement to auditors and six charges of furnishing false information in the years 2002 to 2007.

Last month Judge Rory McCabe said he was anxious for the trial to proceed in late May. The trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court is due to take between two and three months. Yesterday, he adjourned the start of the trial after concerns the trial would not finish by the end of July, when normal sittings finish for summer.